Sam Bankman-Fried's crypto exchange FTX plans to list cardano and polkadot spot trading as it tries to attract retail investors

• Sam-Bankman Fried's exchange FTX plans to list cardano, polkadot and avalanche spot trading.
• FTX currently focuses on futures products, but is looking to add more direct trading capabilities.
• The exchange is trying to lure in more retail traders and has been on a sponshorship spree.

Sam Bankman-Fried's crypto exchange FTX is planning to list spot trading in cardano, polkadot and avalanche in the coming months, as the platform makes a concerted push to draw in more retail investors.

"There's a lot of blockchains we want to list that are fairly significant," the 29-year old crypto billionaire told Insider last week.

"Polkadot is probably right towards the top of that list. I think avalanche, I think probably cardano is on that list. I think those are all blockchains that we want."

Bankman-Fried said FTX, the fourth biggest exchange by daily trading volume, hopes to have more spot listings in the next month or two and that the focus is adding the tokens to the international exchange.

The plan to let users directly buy and sell more tokens comes at a time of surging interest in so-called altcoins.

Read more: A 29-year-old crypto billionaire shares how investors can use Tesla or Apple stock as collateral to buy bitcoin or ether

Cardano is a blockchain created in 2017 by ethereum cofounder Charles Hoskinson. Its cryptocurrency broke past the $3 mark for the first time on Thursday and is now the third biggest by market capitalization, behind bitcoin and ether.

Polkadot was also launched by ethereum cofounder Gavin Wood, in 2020. Avalanche is a decentralized finance blockchain and token also created last year.

FTX currently lists futures - products that allow investors to bet on the future price without actually owning the asset - in polkadot, cardano and avalanche's cryptocurrencies. Futures trading currently makes up around 80% of FTX's offering, compared to roughly 20% in spot trading.

The exchange is making an effort to lure in more retail traders, having become known for attracting institutional investors. FTX now sponsors Major League Baseball umpires and bought the naming rights to the Miami Heat basketball team's home stadium. It has also partnered with football legend Tom Brady and supermodel Gisele Bündchen.

"We are trying to build out the consumer base, especially in the US," Bankman-Fried told Insider. "A lot of what we're thinking is, what are things that we could do that could plausibly reach tens of millions of potential users?"

US consumers are currently barred from using FTX's international exchange, although a report released in July by data firm Inca Digital said many Americans are bypassing such restrictions.

FTX's US arm, called FTX.US, this week bought crypto derivatives platform LedgerX as it looks to bring futures trading to its American customers.

Bankman-Fried also said that FTX is currently in the process of activating a broker-dealer license in the United States, which could allow the exchange to list securities like stocks.